And Now, a Word from the Libertarian Party about Healthcare

I don’t know about you, but I’m getting a little tired of hearing Republicans act self-righteous about this health care bill. Of course it’s a terrible bill that will increase government and taxes and make our health care worse — but let’s take a short trip down memory lane.

In November 2003, almost all Republican senators voted to pass the “Prescription Drug and Medicare Improvement Act of 2003.” That was the horrible humongous Medicare expansion that ended up costing about $1.2 trillion. It was a huge federal intrusion into health care. Republican darlings like Kay Bailey Hutchison and James Inhofe were among those who voted for it.

Now Republicans are saying they oppose government expansion into health care. What a joke. A few years ago they thought it was the greatest thing in the world. Messages being sent out by the Republican National Committee are telling people that the current bill is bad because it will “cut Medicare”!

There’s only one party that really opposes government health care, and that’s the Libertarian Party. We’ve always been against it, and we’ll always be against it. But that doesn’t mean we want to force your health care into the hands of big insurance companies or big pharmaceutical companies, or subject it to the monopolizing effects of today’s licensing laws.

As our platform states, “We favor restoring and reviving a free market health care system. We recognize the freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want, the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of their medical care, including end-of-life decisions.”

Thanks to everyone who called your Congressman a few weeks ago. The bill still got passed by the House, but maybe it will be weakened or killed in the Senate. I certainly hope so.